Dream of Me

  “Leave us be, light bearer,” the demon said softly. “She invited me in; it was her choice.”

  Raphael knew that the demon hadn’t been in the woman long. Mildred did not have the signs of one that had been possessed for a significant amount of time. She was gaunt looking, but not from supernatural evil. Her broken appearance was her own doing. It saddened him anytime he came across a human that had given into the lies that were whispered to them by hell’s minions. It meant one more of the Creator’s children had wandered too far.

  “You will call the girl that was here with you the other day,” Rat’s voice was his own again but Raphael could still feel the demon’s presence. “You might not be old enough for what I want, but she is. Call her, or I will kill your aunt and make you watch. Then you will join her.” He stared at Emma as he pulled the gun from where it had been hidden under his shirt.

  Emma’s hands shook as she picked up the phone that sat on the edge of the worn out couch. Her eyes stayed on Rat as she spoke. “I’ll call her; just give me a second to think of her number.”

  Rat growled. “Hurry up!”

  Raphael took a step toward the man but forced himself to stop. All he could yet do was be present for Emma so she would not be alone. He felt useless and angry. He did not understand why it had to happen this way.

  Emma hadn’t been trying to stall when she told Rat that she needed to remember the number. Her mind was a jumbled mess and her hands were shaking from the adrenaline that was racing through her body. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest that Emma was sure she was going to be one of the few eight-year-olds in history that had died from a heart attack. Deciding she was pretty sure that she had the number figured out, she pushed the on button of the old, wireless phone. Emma hadn’t been around when these phones had been in almost every household in America, but she was pretty sure that this one had been dragged out of the garbage long after those days had passed. The years of grime that coated it made her want to wipe it down with those Clorox wipes her mama loved so much, spray it with Lysol, and then wipe it down again. Emma’s fingers stuck to the buttons as she pushed them, and she tried not to think about the myriad of substances that might be causing the tackiness.

  As she pushed the last number, she thought it was funny that though there was a man holding a gun on her, in that moment she was thinking about not wanting to hold that disgusting phone near her face. That right there proved that she must be going into shock. The phone began to ring and she tried not to hold her breath while she waited for Serenity to answer.

  “Hello?” Finally, Serenity’s voice crackled over the line. It was both the most precious and most devastating thing Emma had ever heard. She knew she was dragging Serenity into her mess and she hated it. But she couldn’t stop herself because she didn’t want to die alone in that house.

  Serenity wanted to look at Emma again to make sure that she was alright but she didn’t want to take her eyes off of Rat. He was the threat in the room and she would be stupid to think he wouldn’t use the weapon in his hand.

  “You’re gonna come with me,” Rat finally spoke. His crazed and lust-filled eyes roamed over her, causing Serenity to feel as though she needed a bath and perhaps to be dowsed in bleach as well.

  “Let Emma leave first,” Serenity countered and was surprised that her voice didn’t shake. She wasn’t feeling nearly as confident as she sounded but she couldn’t show him weakness. “Let Emma leave and then I will go with you. You have my word.”

  Rat let out a disgusted snort. “The word of a woman, what good is that?”

  Serenity tried not to roll her eyes. Great, he’s got mommy issues, she thought. If he hates women there’s no telling what his sick mind has planned. She knew that she couldn’t let her mind wander down that road or she’d vomit right there in front of him.

  “I can’t speak for others, but my word is good. If I say I’m going to do it then I’m going to do it,” she told him and then looked over at Emma. “Come here, Emma.” She motioned with her hand. Emma started to move forward but Rat pointed the gun at her and she froze.

  “Stop!” Serenity yelled. “If you shoot her then you might as well shoot me too because you will not take me alive from this house if you don’t let her go.” Rat looked at her, back to Emma, and then back to Serenity again. She could tell that he was trying to figure out if she was bluffing. She hoped that he chose correctly.

  “Fine,” he huffed like a petulant child. “But if she goes for help and someone shows up here, I’ll kill you.”

  Serenity ignored his threat as she again motioned for Emma to come to her. Emma moved cautiously across the living room and, though it was only around twenty five feet, it felt as though miles separated the two as she waited for the girl to reach her. When Emma was less than a foot away from Serenity’s outstretched hand, Rat suddenly lifted the gun and, from that moment on, everything seemed for Serenity to move in slow motion.

  Her eyes widened as she looked over at Rat and saw something else staring out of the man’s eyes. It was an evil so vile and dark that the already meager lights in the room seemed to dim.

  “She must die,” Rat howled, but it wasn’t Rat’s voice, and even that statement seemed to come out in a slow motion scream.

  Serenity simultaneously pushed Emma behind her while moving toward Rat and the gun that was now aimed at her. Rat pulled the trigger and the bullet flew from the barrel. Serenity felt as though she could see it slicing through the air moving directly toward her.

  Somehow, from somewhere far away it seemed, she heard Dair’s voice. It was a primal roar, and she could feel pain in the sound. But despite that awareness, she was at total peace. For so long she had wondered what her destiny was. She never knew what she wanted to do or where she wanted to go. Since her parents’ death, she had felt as though she was just going through the motions of life until…until Dair. Flashes of his handsome face flew threw her mind. Then she saw the future she could have had with Dair shatter along with her rib cage as the bullet sliced into her body. The projectile hit with such force that it knocked her back against the wall behind her, and her head made a resounding thud but her body never hit the floor. Dair’s arms were around her, lowering her gently to the ground. His dark eyes bore into her, swirling with emotions. She wanted to reach up and smooth away the crease in his brow but her arm would not obey her command. She shivered as the cold crept inside, enfolding her in death’s embrace.

  Serenity was dying. She knew that with utter certainty and yet she was not afraid. There was a part of her that was sad. The part of her that belonged to Dair wanted her to fight. It wanted a life with him and it refused to leave this life behind. But another part of her, somewhere deep inside, knew that this had been her path all along. This part of her knew that it was her destiny all along to be here to save Emma, and it was resigned and at peace with what had happened.

  “Don’t leave me,” Dair whispered against her ear. She felt the darkness surround them and knew that Dair was using his disappearing act to take them somewhere else but she was quickly growing tired. She wasn’t able to concentrate on the sounds that now filled the air. Dair laid her down on a firm surface and suddenly there was a flurry of people surrounding her but none of them were Dair. He was pushed back away from her and she wanted to cry out for him to come back. If she was going to die, she wanted his face to be the last thing she saw and his voice to be the last sound she heard. But instead, as her eyes slipped closed, the last thing she saw were green scrubs leaning over her, and the last sound she heard was the voice of some random person saying, “We’re losing her.” And then there was nothing.

  Dair fought the urge to push the medical staff out of the way to get back to where he belonged, back to her side. He had no idea if she could be saved, but he had to try. He couldn’t just let her go without a fight. His footsteps echoed against the tile floor as he paced outside the room where the doctors and nurses were attempting to save his love’s life. The harsh flor
escent lights seemed even brighter as fear and anger filled him. Dair couldn’t get the image out of his mind. He had appeared in Mildred’s house to the scene of his darkest nightmare.

  He had waited for Serenity to return from the ladies’ room, and after fifteen minutes he had gone back to check on her. When he realized she wasn’t in the restroom, he had searched the restaurant, and the longer he went without finding her the more frantic he had become. Just as he was walking out to the parking lot to see if her car was still there, he heard Raphael’s voice in his mind. “Come to Mildred’s. Now.” The angel’s voice had been so filled with rage that Dair had begun to shake with his own.

  Then he was there watching Rat pull the trigger, the bullet rushing through the air, and then hitting its target―his Serenity. Dair hadn’t been able to move. As though his feet were encased in cement, deep in the ground, he was trapped in the spot where he had appeared. As he watched her body fly back with the impact and crash into the wall, he saw her begin to crumble to the floor. That brought him out of his stupor and he caught her before she could hit the ground. Her body was limp, lifeless, and broken. Dair looked into her eyes, searching for her, imploring her to fight. Serenity’s breathing was labored and he could hear her heartbeat stutter as it fought to keep pumping. He could see the light fading from her, pulling further and further away from him, and he panicked. Dair knew what the Creator had shown him. He knew that this was her destiny but he could not accept it. So he vanished with her in his arms and reappeared at the hospital not caring if he scared some poor soul to death when he suddenly materialized in the ER doorway.

  The hours ticked by as he continued to pace. He was vaguely aware of Serenity’s aunt and uncle arriving with Raphael, Glory and Emma. They didn’t approach him and he imagined that had something to do with Raphael, and he would be forever grateful to the angel for interfering. Although the looks Glory was shooting him made it clear she was not happy about not being able to speak with him. He wasn’t sure that he could be polite and maintain the correct social etiquette that the situation warranted. Dair didn’t want to hurt Darla or Glory or be rude so it was better if he just stayed separate from them for now. Raphael, however, didn’t seem to be worried about Dair’s temperament.

  “Are you alright?” the angel asked, his voice flat, betraying no emotion.

  Dair shook his head unsure of how to answer. He didn’t know if he was alright and he wouldn’t know until Serenity’s fate was made clear. If she died, then the answer to that question would be a huge resounding hell no.

  “I killed the human who shot her.” He told Dair this as if he went around killing humans every day, which was not the case.

  Dair’s head snapped up as his furrowed brow deepened. “You broke the law?”

  Raphael shook his head. “No. The demon that the man housed took matters into his own hands. He made the human raise the gun and pull the trigger. He took the man’s free will away and so I destroyed him. But it cost the human his life.”

  “It’s no less than he deserved,” Dair growled through clenched teeth. He finally stopped his pacing and stood in front of his long time comrade. “I have something I have to do. Will you stay here with her?” The last thing Dair wanted to do was leave Serenity, but there was one who could save her, one who had that power, and he would try anything to save her. Even begging.

  “Of course.”

  Dair nodded his thanks and then stepped around the corner of the hallway, making himself invisible to all but two. He came back around the corner and passed Raphael without a word, heading straight for the young girl who sat quietly in one of the dingy waiting room chairs. Dair knelt down in front of Emma and gave her a sad smile. “How are you doing?” he asked with more gentleness than he realized he was capable of in that moment. Glory sat next to the young girl holding her smaller hand tightly in hers. Her face also was streaked with tears but Dair could tell she was trying to keep it together for Emma’s sake.

  A single tear slid down Emma’s cheek as she looked up at him. Her eyes darted away to check and see if anyone was watching her he assumed. If anyone was watching, it would appear that she was talking to herself. She apparently wasn’t worried about what Glory would think, probably because Glory knew all about him. When her eyes were back on him she let out a shuddering breath. “I didn’t want to call her. I did this to her. If I’d told Rat no then—,”

  “Then you would be dead, Emma,” Dair interrupted. He wouldn’t sugarcoat it, not for her. Such patronizing would be insulting to her intelligence. “Rat did this, not you. Nobody blames you, and you know Serenity doesn’t either.”

  “She’s going to die, isn’t she?” Emma asked, her words shaking out of her.

  “I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “I hope not.”

  “I’m praying that she doesn’t. It’s not her time, Dair. She’s too young; I mean she’s older than me but mama would still call her a barely blossomed flower. She’d say Serenity hadn’t reached her full bloom and that the sun was still rising in her life. She used to say that to me all the time. She’d say my mind bloomed way before the rest of me. Serenity shouldn’t be picked before her season is over. Think of how many people will miss out on knowing her. She saved me, Dair, not just my life but my spirit. She and Darla and Wayne took me in and loved me, and now Serenity will pay the price for knowing me and being a part of my messed up life.”

  Dair placed his finger under her chin and raised her head once again so she would look at him. She was so wise for one so young, and yet she was still just a child in so many other ways. The grief she had already experienced in her few short years was more than most would experience in an entire lifetime. The fact that she wasn’t a complete mess was a miracle, and yet she truly had no clue just how special she was. “First of all, even if Serenity had known the outcome, even if she could have seen into the future, and had known what happened today, she would not have changed anything. She would still have latched onto you and taken you as her little sister. She would have still loved you fiercely and she would have given her life knowing that yours was one worthy of saving. Whatever the outcome of this, I hope that you will not let it make you bitter. You’ve lost so much, Emma Jean, and yet you remain a beacon of light in a dark world. Don’t change, not for anything or anyone.”

  Emma wiped the tears from her eyes as she attempted to give him a reassuring smile. “What about you?” she asked. “You love her.”

  He nodded.

  “If she dies, what will become of you?”

  Dair attempted to let out a slow breath but it felt tight in his chest and threatened to choke him. He didn’t want to think about Serenity dying. He didn’t want to give a second’s thought to a world without her. “I do not know. I have never experienced loss. The emotions that I’ve recently begun to feel are new to me, and I will admit that I don’t know what I will do if I lose her.”

  “You deserve her, you know,” Emma said gently. “I know you don’t think you’re worthy of her. My daddy used to tell my mom that all the time. My mama would look at him and say, stupid man, it is the love we choose to give each other that makes us worthy. Don’t sell yourself short, Sandman. Sure, you have terrible taste in clothes and your job is pretty weird, but you chose to love an imperfect human and she chose to love you. I think that proves that you both are worthy too.”

  Dair patted her softly on the knee and then stood. Emma truly baffled him at times with her wisdom and knowledge and it left him speechless. “I have to go for a little while. Raphael will stay.”

  “I’m asking Him too.”

  Dair’s head tilted to the side.

  She nodded up toward the ceiling. “The Creator. That’s where you’re going, right? Well, I’m talking to Him too and asking Him to leave her here with us.”

  Dair didn’t know what to say. Again he was speechless. So he only nodded and then disappeared. Emma was right; he was going to the Creator. He had no clue what he was going to say. But he knew he had
to petition Him, to intercede on Serenity’s behalf. Dair wasn’t sure if he was about to face the wrath of the Creator for his interference, but he would risk it. For her sake, he would risk anything.

  Chapter 14

  “Dreaming that you are moving toward a bright light does not necessarily mean your time on earth is coming to an end. It could perhaps mean that you have a brilliant idea brewing and don’t even know it.”

  Serenity opened her eyes and felt the warmth of the sun on her skin. She took in a deep, painless breath and smiled as a gentle breeze blew across her face. As she looked around her, she realized she was standing in a large field surrounded by green grass, full trees, and blooming flowers; the landscape around her was nearly too perfect. Perhaps, this was what it was like to be dead. She was surprised to find that the idea that she was indeed dead didn’t upset her. She had peace about it, just like when she had decided to move in with her Aunt Darla and Uncle Wayne. She just knew it was the path she was supposed to take.

  “Do you think that there is but one path for a person to follow?” A deep voice surrounded her, and though she probably should have been frightened, Serenity found that she couldn’t be. Her spirit recognized the one who created her, and she could feel her Creator’s love radiating in the very rays of the sun beaming down on her. Serenity hadn’t always ‘believed’ in the Creator, and yet somehow she had always known he was real. Feeling his love now, she suddenly wished she had searched more while she’d been alive. She couldn’t see anyone around her, but she could feel him.